


Lights Out

by Spaghetti4U



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Chie Satonaka (at the end), Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, Kanji Tatsumi (briefly), Lovestruck souji, M/M, Souji is confused, Takes place during the camping trip, The Talk, Touch-Starved Yosuke, Touching, Warning: a LOT of pining ahead, Yukiko Amagi (at the end)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:34:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spaghetti4U/pseuds/Spaghetti4U
Summary: The camping trip might just have been one of the worst experience of Souji's life, not only he was more tired than usual, but his friends had chose this very moment to argue. But he quickly learned that, sometimes, just talking things out might to solve a bad situation and lead to some very interesting outcome.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Comments: 10
Kudos: 159





	Lights Out

**Author's Note:**

> Souyo shipper: *sees the camping trip*  
> Souyo shipper: It's free real estate
> 
> ___ 
> 
> Heya, been a long time! I'm back but with Persona 4 this time, and more importantly the boys. 
> 
> Be careful, it's getting a bit smutty ahead, not anything explicit, of course, but things heat up a bit. 
> 
> Please keep in mind that English is not my native language and that I'm still struggling a bit with it, so I hope that it doesn't get too repetitive or weird. 
> 
> I hope you will like it!

"I declare myself not responsible for anything that happens.", he said.

  
  


Souji turned his attention to the boy standing next to him. 

Yosuke Hanamura. Unfortunately his dear dumb best-friend. 

  
  


So far, it was safe to say that the camping trip had been a real disaster. 

Not only the day had been tiring enough, as walking around picking up trashes left there by uncaring passersbies wasn't the funniest activity nor the most relaxing thing to do around in the woods, surrounded by dozens of teenagers on edge, but the dinner had been a total catastrophic experience too. Ome that he would rather forget, but the memory of the "Mystery Food X" was lingering on his mind and worst, on his tongue, and seemed to be just amplified by the feeling of emptiness in his stomach. The more he thought about it, the less it made sense to him, how could someone fail that much their cooking moreover a dish as simple as curry. The only explanation that was remotely convincing was admitting that the girls had tried to poison them to get their revenge on something the boys had done in the past, but Souji couldn't pitpoint what, and that was troubling him all the more. Little to admit that he regretted not having listening to Yosuke this time, when he warned him upon dying in his arms. So much for his courage tests, his friends truly were something else. 

Souji had took comfort in knowing he wasn't alone going through those hardships, and had his comrades by his side, suffering just as much, maybe more, judging by how much the brunette next to him had complained today. To be perfectly honest, he had been looking forward going to bed tonight, to finally call it a day, and let himself enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the nocturnal woods around them, while trying to rest a bit. Things had seemed even better when he had realized that the other people he was supposed to share the tent with called in sick. In that case, it was just him and his partner, Yosuke, alone, a fact that was oddly satisfying, although the hazzled-haired boy was still looking upset, even after they had settled down on their sleep bags.

Nonetheless, Souji was glad it was just the two of them, sure, Yosuke wasn't the quietest roommate (tentmate?) he could have hoped for, but he could be fairly calm when he wanted to be, especially when he needed to daydream with his headphones on top of his head, suddenly needing to listen to whatever music he had in mind at the moment. If anything, Souji thought it might happen right now, since he deserved a break after today too, it was already surprising that he hadn't give in yet.

More than that, he knew Yosuke, and Yosuke knew him too, probably more than anyone else, in fact. And he didn't mind listening him talking about anything, even when he was getting excited. Sometimes Souji could follow, sometimes not, but he let him talk all the same, he knew how much Yosuke valued being able to speak his mind freely. Souji considered himself quite shy, and the perspective of sleeping alongside someone he barely knew had made his stomach twist all day with anxiety. But only him and Yosuke? That was fine. Better than fine, even. They already had sleepovers once or twice, that couldn't be much different, except for their surroundings. It, actually, even made him happy to share that with him. Yes, he could definitely manage that.

He remembered entering their tent and directly feel a weight fall of his shoulders, and as pissed as Yosuke had seemed after their poor excuse of a "dinner", he still looked a little relieved to be there too. This memory tingled Souji's stomach a bit, and forced a small smile to show up on his face. He was glad to not be the only one finding comfort at the perspective of spending quality time with one another, or just resting, anything was fine as long as they were alone.

Yet, the tranquil air they constructed inside, composed mostly of Yosuke rambling about wanting to eat, and how the food could have been so bad, with Souji silently nodding along while setting up his space for the night, broke down as soon as a third person made their way into their safe place. 

Of course, Souji didn't mind Kanji tagging along at all. He was a dear friend too, and he was convinced that he would rather want the blondie with them than being alone in his own tent, or surrounded by people he disliked. Thus, true to himself, Souji had not even hesitated a second to move a little to make him some space to his right, as an invitation to enter and make himself comfortable. Which he did. 

To be perfectly honest, Souji had purposefully decided not to think about how he had felt about having another person around, thinking that his friends were more important than him at this very moment. Even if he was tired. Very tired. After all they had been through today, they had to stick together, no matter what. So he settled in looking at his best-friend, who was surely more expressive about his opinion on the matter, to see how things would turn out. 

If Souji didn't really let Yosuke choose whether or not Kanji could come in (he had moved before he could say a word), he assuredly could tell that he didn't seem to appreciate that, but was, most likely, on the same page as him.

Yosuke's eyes were fixated on Kanji, who was struggling to find somewhere to sit, jaw slightly hanging, as if he were going to say something, his arms tightly crossed around his chest, looking tensed. He shot a glance at the now narrowed space between him and Souji. Not long after that, he spoke up:

"Dude, I can't believe that…", he sighed, as Kanji finally sat down.

His words were only greeted by silence.

"Dammit… I'm so hungry…", he continued. Souji figured it meant that he had accepted Kanji there too, despite how reluctant he may have been. 

After that, they chatted a bit, mostly Yosuke and Kanji. Souji couldn't really remember what was said. He was sure at some point they had talked about him moving further but no Yosuke didn't want that, his teacher, and he would prefer to forget that, and snacks that Kanji really seemed to hold close in his heart. But his mind was somewhere else. If he could catch up within seconds on what was said (a skill he had learned to master during excessively boring classes), he, mentally, was wandering, thinking about what could, what _should_ have happened if Kanji hadn't came here. It was probably rude to think about that, he realized, but he couldn't help himself. Plus, those thoughts were just what they were: fantasies of a tired mind, not harmful in any way. If the scenario changed a bit each time his mind rewinded, he found out that he liked every outcomes it had provided. It felt great, and it was relaxing, just imagining the two of them chatting about anything silently, in their own bubble, maybe Yosuke would have slipped his headphones around him and made him listen to one of his favorite songs, he did that sometimes, when he was in a good mood. Souji liked it. It felt precious, like a secret they shared. 

Soon enough, Souji was lying down, looking at their roof, trying not to doze off, still drowning in sweet pictures of muffled laughters and intimate chitchats. Kanji was still to his right, trying to figure out a good position for him to sleep in, and Yosuke still to his left, a bit further, uplifted by his elbow, glaring at Kanji as if he had done something shockingly crude, just by being there. Judging by the twisted look on his face, it was only a matter of seconds before he said anything. 

"Kanji, don't you have more space on your side?", he asked.

Souji wondered if Yosuke was worried about him. He was close to Kanji, sure, (closer than he was to the brunette) but he didn't mind. He had stayed there to give his best-friend as much space as possible, since he knew Kanji wouldn't mind the proximity either, and that Yosuke would like some distance between them, especially now. 

"Man, I can't sleep over there, or my back's gonna break.", he just replied nonchalantly.

The rocky bump on the other side of the floor did, indeed, look painful.

"Oh…", Yosuke breathed in, "Okay…"

Souji almost snorted. 

Yosuke had said that with a tiny disappointed voice he found hilarious and weirdly cute given the situation. Still, a part of him felt bad knowing his friend was uncomfortable for some reasons that he could just spot (mostly revolving around bathhouses), and he couldn't do much more about that, except maybe kicking Kanji out, which would have been utterly rude and unfair. 

Deep down, Souji hoped this night could help them to come to term with their tensions, well, mostly Yosuke's awkwardness, in fact. He knew they considered each other friends, but also had biases to overcome. That much, he couldn't help them with.

Thinking back on this hope, Souji had been pretty naive, because shortly after this small talk, an argument erupted between his friends. Argument based on: "Are we safe?" and "I'm not like that!".

And then they were all standing, defensively, Souji between them, facing Kanji, as if to shield Yosuke, even though he knew all to well he was the one who started all of that by asking something absolutely, now that he was awoken enough to properly think, dumb and mean. Still, sensing Yosuke so distressed behind him had moved something within him, that had, apparently, forced him to stand on his side, even if he only wanted to smother the argument.

Seconds by seconds the air around them was becoming heavier, Kanji more fidgety and Yosuke more panicked, until they were both almost shouting at each other in utter horror. Somehow, they settled it with Kanji fusing out of their tent claiming he would go hit on the girls to prove something Souji didn't really understand, and that despite his best words to try to calm him down. Kanji was too on edge to listen to him, he had noticed as much.

  
  


That was the story of how they ended up just the two of them again, with Yosuke claiming that he wasn't responsible of any trouble, while he was, in fact, very much so. 

After few other seconds of lingering silence, Souji heard Yosuke sigh again, and sitting down. 

"Dude… This is going to cause so much trouble…", he bit his bottom lip nervously.

Souji followed him.

"I mean- It's not… My fault right? What's gotten into him..?", he mumbled, looking away, probably not to face Souji's deadpan look. 

He knew better than to pressure Yosuke into apologizing now. He was still distraught, and no one could tell what would happen if he tried to follow Kanji out in the woods, only for them to resume arguing outside their tent, they already were lucky enough that they didn't alert anyone else, they couldn't push their luck. 

Yosuke put his hands on his knees, visibly frustrated. Souji could tell he was feeling guilty, which was a good sign, but didn't want to move either, probably well aware of what could happen if things went wrong yet again. 

He smiled a bit, trying to be comforting.

"It's okay, I'm sure he will be back.", he tried, voice even. 

"How can you be so sure?", Yosuke turned again to face him, alerted. "I don't want him to get in trouble!", at the very least, Souji was glad for his genuineness.

"That's fine, he can handle it.", he looked toward the opening of the tent, recalling the way the blond boy had bursted out. Yes, he trusted him to not do anything drastic. Maybe he just needed air, Souji knew he would, in his shoes.

Yosuke barely hummed, but he seemed to Souji that he was relaxing a bit. With that, silence resumed, careful and fragile, but welcomed. 

  
  
  


"Were you really scared for yourself?"

"Huh?"

Yosuke looked at him, with an incredulous look in his eyes. Souji realized that the question had slipped through his lips without his consent. It still felt a bit early for this talk. He tried to keep his face stoic. 

Before him, Yosuke was putting a hand on his neck, lips tightening slightly.

"Hem… I mean… No… I guess not… It's just…"

He dared to look at Souji before quickly looking away, obviously embarrassed. Souji titled his head a bit, curious.

"I don't know, man, maybe a bit?", he carefully started, still consciously avoiding Souji's eyes.

The silver-haired boy blinked slowly in response.

"Would you have reacted the same if he were a girl?", the question slipped again, without him wanting to, maybe he was more tired than he thought, but curiosity got the best of him. Somehow, it felt like he had hoped to have this conversation with Yosuke for quite a while, now. It seemed, unsurprisingly, to startle his friend.

"What?", he blurted out. At least, he was looking at Souji now. 

"If it were a girl instead of Kanji, would you have felt unsafe too?"

That would have made sense. If his partner was worried because he thought Kanji might be interested in boys, and since he seemed to assume everyone else around him was heterosexual, that would mean he should feel unsafe around girls too. Unless he truly had no confidence in boys, which was most likely the case, but not the point Souji was trying to make. 

This time, it was Yosuke who blinked, confused, mouth slightly opened.

"Huh, well, no. She should have been the one feeling unsafe… Right?", he chuckled nervously. Souji frowned, puzzled.

"Because you think we would have done something to her?", he thoughtfully added while putting a hand on his chin. Yosuke tensed.

"Hell no! We would never do _that_!", he blushed, eyes widening in offense. 

"Then… You think that Kanji could do that?”, Souji locked his eyes into Yosuke's, which made him break the contact instantly, still red, knuckles tightening around his sweatpants.

"No… I don't… It's just…", he let out a trembling breath, "You've seen his shadow…", he almost whined. 

"Yes. I did.”, _“I saw yours too, and I know that you are different, now.”_ , he almost continued, “But he came to term with all of that, and I don't think Kanji would ever do anything to us. Or anyone else.", he stated instead. 

Yosuke let out a long sigh, and ruffled his hair a bit.

"Yeah, I know… You're right… I was being a jerk.".

Souji heavily disliked the feeling he had that he was lecturing his friend, but it did seem to help too, besides he was glad that he accepted so easily that he had messed up without trying too hard to justify himself, he actually believed he might have been more defensive on the whole thing. He heard Yosuke's teeth clutching into each others, which made him think he wasn't done yet, so he kept quiet.

"It's just that…", he flinched. 

He waited silently as the brunette dared to look at him nervously, fidgeting a bit.

"He was really close to you.", he concluded in a tiny voice, eyes closed, most likely hoping to disappear. 

Souji's mind slowly went blank. He was pretty sure he could feel his comprehension fading away and that was terrifying.

"... What?", it wasn’t very smooth, but it seemed to him he was about to break for some reason, so he decided that it was good enough to convey his emotions and confusion.

Yosuke straightened up, face turning red.

"I-I mean!", he started loudly, suddenly defensive again, "The space between you guys and us was totally different right?! Wasn't he bothering you? He was super close and stuff and… I couldn't help but think you…”, he paused briefly, “...Would have loved some more space, y'know.", he was looking away again, barely breathing.

Souji blinked again, and chose to put a hand on his friend's shoulder on autopilot, ignoring the way his chest ucomfortabely felt like it was about the explode. Finally, Yosuke exhaled, for what seemed the first time in minutes. 

"I wanted to give you some space. I truly think that he couldn't sleep because of the rock, Yosuke.", he started, voice low, and calm, not because he wanted to, but mostly because he his mind still wasn't working right. Everything around him felt so slow he wondered if time was working right. 

Yosuke quickly glanced at the hand on his shoulder, but made no move to push it away, finally, he looked at his friend, face twisted in a confused grimace:

"What? Dude, why did you want to give _me_ some space while _you_ were the one almost cuddling up with him?!", his voice getting dangerously high pitched. 

Souji hesitated, suddenly weighted by the oddly accusatory tone of Yosuke, it was his time to look away.

"Well… You seemed uncomfortable. I thought you wouldn't have liked me too close either." 

"I don't mind.", he responded almost too keenly, only to flinch away when Souji moved a bit, surprised, the silver-haired boy loosened even more the hold on Yosuke's shoulder. He dared to glance at him, only to find a look of pure consternation on his friend's face, probably rethinking what just had slipped from his never-shutting mouth. Souji didn't mind, though, even if it was… hasty, at least, coming from Yosuke, he never truly minded what he said, especially that. 

"You, huh, you are my partner after all!", he laughed loudly, "I don't care about you being close and all, if that makes you more comfortable.", he added with a tight smirk.

Souji inhaled his words, replaying them carefully in his mind, not trying to interpret then the wrong way (and that was hard, especially with only a quarter of his brain working normally). There were times like this when he was proud of his poker face.

Was that why he had seemed so nervous before? He felt like Kanji was too close to him? He wasn't worried for himself? Or rather, maybe he was actually worried for the both of them? But he had say that even him didn't believe Kanji would try anything at all, so why did he mind in the first place? … No that couldn't be right. That almost made him sound jealous or something… 

Without noticing, his face twisted into a weird scowl of concentration, Yosuke eyed him, carefully, watching for his reaction, not moving again. Finally, Souji looked back at his friend, who tensed immediately. He slowly withdrew his hand, not wanting to startle him anymore. 

"You sure you don't mind?"

"Pfft!", Yosuke exhaled quickly, making a dismissive gesture with his hand, "Yeah, it's fine!", he actually looked like he wanted to be convincing. 

Souji slightly narrowed his eyes. He did want to believe him, but a part of him was a bit worried that his best-friend would also think that he would try to take advantage of it if he happened to be too close. Of course, Souji wouldn't do that, and he was pretty sure Yosuke knew that to, but he was easy to freak-out. And the one thing he didn't want was to make him uncomfortable around him, or worst _scared_. His stomach ached a little at the thought of Yosuke pretending to be fine while, in fact, being frightened because of him. 

"I don't want to overstep your boundaries, though." 

Sure, it was safe to assume that Yosuke believed that Souji was only interested in girls, since he often asked for his opinion on the matter, but every time, Souji turned down the conversation, or let Yosuke handle it alone. It was not that he was particularly interested in boys either, or so he thought, but, eventually, Yosuke would catch on and start to question him too. Especially since he seemed so attached to those things. Maybe the doubt was already there. He also knew that, despite his reluctance about Kanji, Yosuke was pretty tactile of a person, at least with him, nothing that could ever feel remotely intimate or anything, just an arm hanging few seconds around a shoulder, or a friendly tap on the back, but Souji had the feeling that the kind of “touching” they were talking about had little to do with the “bros being bros” category. 

"You… are not.", he exhaled, "Dude… We are partners, I won't freak out if you stand less than a one meter perimeter from me, y'know.". Somehow, Yosuke seemed calm enough, saying that with a tiny shrug, and sheepish smile forming on his face. 

_"Oh thanks God."_ , Souji thought. And darn, thinking about all of that so much was apparently started to grow on his nerves. 

"Fine, I believe you.", he simply said, smiling, "But please tell me if I ever do something that makes you uncomfortable.", he finished, hoping that would also mean the end of the conversation. Maybe he had been too careful around him. Thinking back, Yosuke was obviously the one that initiated most of the contacts between them, maybe the lack of reciprocity had distressed him more than he had realized. 

The brunette laughed a bit, and winked:

"C'mon, partner, you'd never do that!"

That made him smile a little more, and his stomach flutter a bit. It was weird. He really wished to end thing here, but he had just awoken to the idea that he was actually allowed to be closer to Yosuke, and somehow, the idea was appealing in a way he would have never expected. 

"So, that means I can touch you?", he was still smiling, but, yes, he knew that it had came out really wrong. Maybe he had relaxed too much because of that sheepish smile. So much for being apparently tactful, but he could play it off on saying it was a joke.

His best-friend only looked at him for few seconds, his smile now blank, in what seemed to be deep bewilderment.

"What now?", he blinked. 

Souji turned his head away, pink making its way to his cheeks. "Nevermind.", he started, and before he could add "That's not what I meant", Yosuke cut him:

"Huh.", he looked at his hands, face still impressively neutral, "Sure, go ahead."

Few seconds passed without seeming to.

"What.", Souji deadpanned. Finally after a short moment of awkwardly staring at each other in heavy silence, Yosuke started to react more like himself, crouching his shoulders, stiffing a bit more. Soon enough, he frowned, face reddened by a violent blush. Even more awkward, but at least, usual Yosuke was back. 

"W-What, "what"?!", he exclaimed, "You're the one who asked!", he pointed.

"Well- yes, but-"

"Aaah, don't make me repeat it!", he almost groaned, looking at Souji, embarrassed, but eyes shining with a glint of something else. He was _challenging_ him to move. Souji felt his stomach fall to his feet, and then being replaced by warmth in his lower belly as he opened his mouth, eyes slightly widening, suddenly very aware of how hot the air around them was. He probably was blushing too. Yosuke kept going, apparently ignoring the way his composure had fell upon one single look.

"I'm tired too, okay?! I am not thinking straight either!", he voice was resigned, barely above a whisper, and tensed, but also expectant.

Souji swallowed. “Expectant’”, the word echoed in his mind. Yosuke _wanted_ him to do something. He realized that his partner was giving him a chance he would probably never be given again, so, he had to make a move. 

The air only seemed thicker around them, and it seemed to Souji that they might as well have been into the TV world with how foggy and dense and disorienting everything was now. Except Yosuke looked more real than he ever had been before, and somehow, for reason that he could not care to think about now, that made his chest clench, as if he were linked to an anchor, every part of him screaming to him that the only way not to sink into the fog would be to reach out.

And Yosuke was here, like always, but also like never before, and he was waiting, waiting for him to do something. And that fact alone was hammering in his mind, pounding so loudly that he could not focus on everything else except : " _He is here, you are here, this is it"_. He didn't even know what that meant, but really, he wanted it too. 

So slowly, and more carefully than ever before, he lifted his hand, eyes locked into Yosuke's. It was amazing how well he could see when he was focusing on only one thing. Yosuke's eyes were bright, open, urging and pouring into him like sunset beam. He noticed tiny freckles here and there too, that he had already seen before, but not like that, not as if it were tiny constellations dusting his face. 

Souji hold his breath. He was beautiful.

Finally, for what seemed like ages, he gathered up the strength to put his hand where it wanted to be. On top of Yosuke's head. 

He blinked. Once. Twice. 

And then…

He patted it. 

He patted his head. Like he would have done to Nanako. 

Yosuke looked at him. Mouth slightly agape. The spell now broken. 

"Your hair is soft.", he gulped.

Yosuke breathed in, and looked away, confused, but clearly disappointed.

"... Thanks…?"

"No. I mean it.", he started petting it.

Yosuke brought his gaze to him again, looking like he wanted to say something. "Partner, I… Huh…" Frankly, he probably should have let him talk, but that was the moment he chose to let his hand slide a little, so it brushed the brunette's hear, which, apparently, made him forget what he had tried to say in the first place. Souji bit down a smirk, and move his hand so it was now tangled in the locks, slightly brushing his scalp. Yosuke's eyes quickly widened, but almost half-disappeared an instant later as his eyelids relaxed. 

He had lied. Yosuke's hair wasn't really soft, at least, probably less than his, but he liked the rough feeling of spiky hair tickling his hand all the same, maybe even more. This time, he smiled for real, allowing himself to let his finger brush against the nape of his friend's neck. It was rewarded with Yosuke melting into the touch and bowing his head a bit, encouraging him to keep going. So he really liked that, huh. It wasn’t that surprising, he thought, lot of people enjoyed having someone petting their hair, but touching someone's neck still was a pretty intimate gesture, one that he was sure he would not do with anyone, and by extension, that Yosuke wouldn't allow just anyone to do either. It was… exalting, for sure. He pressed down slightly, turning his light touch into full caresses, welcomed by a delighted, and probably not wanted, sigh from his friend, who closed his eyes, and, if Souji’s mind wasn't blank and on autopilot by now, with how warm he felt everywhere, it was definitely the case now. How was he able to do that again? Oh, who cared. He felt his breath deepening, matching Yosuke's, body fully relaxed as he lined forward a bit, seeking more and more closeness. Hey he could probably do something with his other hand too, that sounded like a good idea. He reached out again, this time with more confidence, never forgetting avec once his work on the brunette's nape and hair, always trying to change the pace, or the place his fingers were resting on, to explore as much as he could, and not let his friend get bored of the feeling. The other hand boldly went to rest on Yosuke's knee, which made him tense up a bit at first, but finally didn't seem to be much of a problem when his attention snapped back to the feeling on his neck. At some point, the hand wandered further down to the beginning of his collarbone, and Yosuke shuddered, body vibrating tentatively from head to toes. Souji withdrew his breath, and after a few seconds let out a low and fond chuckle he didn't know he was holding in. 

"Sensitive spot?", he asked, with a hint of amusement in his smirk, eyes gleaming.

"Shuddup!", despite his gasp, Yosuke's voice was as timid as a murmur, he closed his eyes again, this time probably out of frustration. "... Do that again.", and Souji complied with a confident smile. He realized that he would probably comply to any demand coming from Yosuke anyways. He was rewarded by the same reaction, Souji wetted his lips in appreciation. It was so satisfying that it urged him to grasp more of Yosuke. His other hand started to climb slowly against his tight, feather touch at first, but more and more tempting each passing second, while the other one was reaching down, and Yosuke was biting his bottom lip, eyes still closed, and Souji breath was getting out of control and- 

"Hey...are you guys still up?", a voice whispered next to them. 

Yosuke jumped, and Souji froze. Faster than he ever saw him go, his partner was now standing few meters away from him as if he was on fire, looking suspiciously disturbed.

"What are you guys doing here?! This is the guy's side!", he snapped at the door, barely holding the venom in his voice. 

Souji finally breathed again and figured that Chie was outside. Probably Yukiko too, then. 

He realized that Yosuke's face was bright red, then again, his was probably too, it was impossible for the temperature to be that high at this time of the night. The brunette was clenching his knees with an iron grip, glaring at the silhouettes outside of their tent. 

"Let us in!", Chie pleaded. 

Before Souji could say anything, Yosuke kept going at it:

"Don't be ridiculous! If King Moron finds out we'll be all expelled! Go back to your tent!"

He was impressed, while he couldn't even trust his ability to speak straight, Yosuke seemed to be already able to find reasonable and real excuses, even his voice sounded normal, save the uneven exasperated tone, which was justified in this situation. He wondered if he had just dreamed what happened, then again, Yosuke was still very flustered physically speaking…

_“Physically”_ , oh my-, Souji thought. That had been _physical_.

"We can't!", she argued, snapping back Souji’s attention to the door, he figured that, no matter what was happening, it was pretty serious, so he closed his eyes, and tried to regain his composure. Switching on to his leader persona, he silently hummed, ready to listen to them attentively. A great timing, because not even a second after that, he heard loud footsteps, followed by the sound of someone clearing their throat in a disgusting manner. 

"Are there any rotten apples out and about!? Any indecent students out there…?", it was King Moron, of course, and he seemed drunk too. Before he could let them in, though, Yosuke acted quicker again.

"A-alright! Hurry up and get in!", he clenched his teeth, and Souji could understand why. He was fairly disappointed too. But whatever he had promised himself before was still standing even now : if a friend needed him, needed them, he would be sure to be there, no matter how inconvenient it was for him. 

Soon, the two girls (Yukiko was, indeed, there), were sitting on the floor in front of them, forming together a circle. Yosuke opted for crossing his arms again, while Souji's hand rested on his lap. It was almost as if nothing had happened at all, since no one would be able to notice the way Yosuke was clenching his teeth together. 

"So, why're you two here?", he started. 

"Well, it's Kanji-kun…", Yukiko sighed. Yosuke was probably pretending to not have noticed the look Souji gave him. "He's out in the cold…"

"I-I don't know what happened!", Chie claimed too suddenly, "He just came in and then, and then… he-he fainted all off the sudden.", which was hard to believe, especially when she looked so flustered. "That's all. Right Yukiko?", so she was seeking help from a friend, huh, now he was sure she was lying. 

"Huh? Y-yeah."

Before anyone could ask anything, Chie continued:

"So there was no way we could sleep with him lying there and you know… If we woke him up, he might have made a fuss.", probably less than Yosuke when he would have realized that two girls were trying to get into their tent during the middle of the night, he noted, but he didn't say anything. Whatever had happened to Kanji, he had the feeling that, somehow, he would not wake up that easily from his slumber. 

"That's why we left him there.", she concluded, seemingly satisfied by her explanation.

"What? That makes no sense. He busted into your tent, then suddenly fainted?", Souji mentally nodded at Yosuke's suspicions. 

"Listen up! Being insolent and being indecent are very different things!", they all cringed at the barks outside. 

"It's him! He's right outside!", The brunette exhaled a panicked breath, before turning to him for the first time since - the thing. "H-Hey, turn the light off!". And so he did, complying while remembering what he had thought few minutes before, besides, it was a good idea. 

They all sat together in utter silence, holding their breaths in, trying to do as little noise as possible, while they could perfectly hear the rumblings and clumsy steps of their, most likely wasted, teacher getting closer and closer. It was exciting somehow, to know that they were doing something forbidden, with the risk of being caught. Souji's mind went high wire, analyzing every possible outcomes of this situation, and every possible solution he could find, something he usually did in battles only. It was refreshing, to say the least, to do so in their world, but he had the feeling the thrill wasn't shared. 

"Hey, are you two in there? Answer me!", the voice shouted by the door.

"We're here.", he responded, voice even, showing no trace of nervousness, which seemed to disappointed King Moron, who followed bewilderedly: "Huh…?", before adding with a creepy satisfied tone, "Ahhh, so you're in there…", Souji almost shivered, a long, unpleasant shiver. "Is Hanamura already asleep?"

"Yessir! Fast asleep, Sir!", Yosuke hurriedly replied.

Souji almost snorted again. 

"Don't get cute, Hanamura! Shut up and go back to sleep.", never ever, he would have thought he would agree with Marooka on something, that was both surprising and well… really disgusting. The other man yawned loudly as if he had red into his thoughts, "Ugh, I think I had one too many. I'm so sleepy…", he finished, before starting to walk away. 

Yosuke sighed first. 

"There goes a couple years off my lifespan."

"No joke… We were nearly expelled…", Chie breathed out.

"Hey, this is you guys' fault!"

"W-What else were we supposed to do?! Anyways, we can't leave now. We'll sneak out before the others wake up tomorrow. Is that good enough for you?!"

With everything that had happened, and the rush of adrenaline decreasing, Souji was starting to feel sleepy again. Hopefully they would reach an understanding sooner than not. What a way to end this day.

"What are you so pissed out for…?", Yosuke exhaled.

"You better not try any funny stuff while we're asleep, is that clear?", Chie bit back, the brunette answered with a quiet grunt.

Ah yes, the great perspective of going to sleep. He needed that now. 

"H-Hey, we didn't say you could-". Apparently, Yosuke got the comedy or rather the irony of the situation too, seeing that he opted for looking away, and finally comply, "Dammit, you owe us for this!", in a low voice. 

That settled it then. He looked at Yukiko, who nodded, and began the construction of a barricade inside the tent, using everyone's belongings. Bags, clothes, Chie insisted on using anything they could find, so much that he wouldn't have been too surprised if she had pressed Yosuke to go find leaves in the woods nearby to solidify their borders. It felt a bit too much, especially with all they had been through together, in Souji's opinion. They had fought together to death, seen almost the worst of each others, but somehow none one them were feeling safe sleeping next to another. It made him a bit sad, but he put it on his fatigue. Soon enough, their fort was up. The space was narrowed in more than the half, and if he had been worried before because Yosuke might feel too cramped well… he couldn't do much more now. At least, the girls were on the same position too. 

He inwardly sighed, finally ready to call it a day for good. He sat on his side, eyeing Yosuke who was doing the same, with an exasperated look on his face. Souji wondered if he was uncomfortable now, and heavily resent the thought of that. But Yosuke had been pretty sharp tonight, maybe not eating did that to him, so he probably noticed, and let out a big sigh before smiling at him, a bit apologizing. 

"It's fine, partner. I swear.", he whispered, honestly looking touched. 

Souji let out a tiny ragged breath, and felt the tension slip off his body, as he returned a shy smile, which made Yosuke's even bigger, and more enthusiastic.

"Besides…" he expectantly started, he looked at the barricade, as if to assure them a bit a privacy, "that gave me the time to think, you know.", he continued getting a bit flustered.

"Oh?", Souji raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… I…", he chuckled lowly, "I'd like to return the favor one day." 

"Oh.", Souji looked down to his feet, flustered too, he could sense his face heating up.

"Yeah… To… Keep things fair.", Yosuke gulped. And when Souji looked at him again, he nervously winked, a glint of malice in his eyes, "After all, we're equal, right?" 

And they smiled at each others, a dumb, giddy smile probably, Souji thought after all of this, but for now, he was too happy to care. 

"Hey, what are you whispering for over there?!", Chie snapped from her side. "You'd better not be scheming something, or else I-"

And Souji barely heard the rest of it, except for maybe few "nothing go back to sleep, geez" coming from his partner, because he was too busy thinking back about tonight, and what he had done, what _they_ had done, and how Yosuke was okay with doing that again, and oh my god, the way he had shivered twice, and how hard it was to hold back a blissful laugh now. Soon enough, the tent was dark and quiet, except for four breathings and the sound of Souji's thoughts.

Tonight had been pretty tiring, he must admit. But he felt good about the outcome. Now that he knew that Yosuke didn't mind him that close, he felt an unknown tension disappear for good. He finally settled in front of the other boy, who was watching him. In the dark, it was hard to tell for sure, but he might have been another expectant look, coming from his best-friend. Sure, the night was probably going to be terrible: he was just few centimeters from a hole, so he'd better not move a finger if he didn't want to fall, and they would most likely freeze to death since they barely had any covers left (the girls having taken the sleeping bags) and Kanji was out somewhere in the dark but right now, being able to feel the gaze Yosuke was giving him was worth any trouble. It was happy, carefree and trusting look, something that screamed him to reach out again, probably to put an hand around his waist and snuggle up close to him. But Souji, despite everything, still knew better. If his best-friend claimed he was fine with anything, he knew it was far from the truth especially now that the heat of the moment was gone, and, true to his words, he would never do something that would make him uncomfortable, so he would wait, he would take it slow. It was fine, after all, they still had so much time left to spend together. 

A serene smile showed up on his face, as he made his way to bring his hand gently on top of Yosuke's. This seemed to do the trick, as the brunette let out a pleased hum. Not loud enough to startle the girls, but enough to let his friend know that he liked it. And that was more than enough. He dared to come closer, feeling a bit bold, not close enough to be cuddling, but suffisant to feel each other warmth, an excuse he could use to back down if anything happened. Surprisingly, though, it made only Yosuke move closer too, so that they were almost touching. Souji's heart was beating loudly in his chest, or maybe it had stopped all the same. Anyway, he wouldn't trade that for anything. When Yosuke turned his hand a bit to loosely lock their fingers together, Souji thought he had been swelled in warmth. 

Tomorrow would be another day, probably filled with more adventures, and more Yosuke, but surely not like this. It was a bit of a shame since Souji felt like he could really get used to an affectionate partner. But for now all that mattered was the feather touch of their fingers, and Yosuke's breath on his neck, and for the the first time for quite a while, he felt his heart pooling into happiness and pure bliss.

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, I initially wanted to write a dumb story of the boys going into the woods after hearing a strange noise outside during the camp out, but I guess I got kind of carried away with the big talk lol. After that, it seemed a little underwhelming to just make them explore and stuff, so I decided to stick with how it turned out! I hope you like it!
> 
> Most likely they don't even realize yet that they are so over one another, but it won't be too long for them to figure it out. I tried to insist a bit on the fact that Yosuke is quite sharp, and luckily, the dialogues of the game were helping me out on that. It tried to stay as canon as possible, since I like it this way. 
> 
> And lovestruck Souji? Lovestruck Souji. 
> 
> Anyways I hope you like it! Feel free to comment <3


End file.
